The Whitehall field hockey season ended in the district quarterfinals, marking another successful season for the maroon and gold.

The season ended that way it started with a loss to Easton. They were shut out by the Red Rovers in their opener, but managed to score a goal in the district playoffs, losing 6-1 to the third-seeded Red Rovers in the AAA quarterfinals.

Easton rode that victory into the finals, defeating Liberty 1-0 in the semis, setting up a date against Emmaus for the District 11 championship.

Head coach Jennifer Bodnar said that while it wasn’t the outcome they are hoping for, she believed that they were able to stick with the talented Rovers as they played to the best of their ability. Moreover, she said that the final score wasn’t indicative of how well they played. She said that three shots hit the post, while others were right at or on the goal line, but failed to go in.

“It could have been a lot closer than it was, but we didn’t get the bounces we needed,” said Bodnar.

The goal that managed to get through came off Caitlin Cunningham’s stick who scored on a pass from Kassidy Cunningham at the 11:25 mark of the second half.

Bodnar said that the term played hard throughout the game, and that’s something they can build on heading into next season.

She said that at the start of the season her young defensive corps was learning how to navigate varsity action within the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, and once they hit the midseason mark, that group began to assert itself. Goalkeeper Logan Bortz, who made 15 saves in the game against the Red Rovers, took over the starting role this season and has steadily become a solid performer in their back line. Bonder said that sophomores Joyce Lu and Hallie Kern were also instrumental in that turnaround.

The team continued to make strides, culminating in a big win over Northampton who had roughed them up in their first meeting, 6-0, but the Zephs responded with a convincing 5-2 victory in the rematch. That win set them on the path of making both the league and district playoffs this season.

The loss marks the end of their 2017 campaign. They finished the season 10-9-1. They will graduate seniors Caitlin Cunningham, Jennifer Kromer, Rachel Sottolano, Kassidy Cunningham, Cameryn Evans and Morgan Anderson.

Bodnar said that she’s “super proud” of all those seniors. Cousins Kassidy and Caitlin Cunningham were key contributors on offense, with the two scoring the bulk of the team’s goals this season. Bonder also commended Caitlin Cunningham for making the shift to defense where she could help out that younger unit.

“She gladly took on that role for us,” said Bodnar.

Bodnar said that Kromer grew tremendously as a player, while Sottolano was a key starter for them on defense this year. Both Anderson and Evans played significant minutes as well, helping to contribute to another winning season.

She said that they were all integral parts of their success this season.